Flush door pull handles, also known as "recessed door pulls" or "pocket door pulls," are well known. Flush door pull handles are characterized by the pull being recessed into a pocket in the face of the door so as not to protrude from the door face. Such flush door pull handles are especially advantageous for installations such as hospital where a gurney or other equipment being rolled through an open door might catch on a protruding door pull. Flush door pull handles are also especially well suited for installations heavily used by children, since the absence of a protruding fixture makes it difficult for children to climb on or hang from the door pull handle.
When conventional flush door pull handles are recessed within a pocket in one face of a door, the door pull handle is typically secured to the door by fasteners inserted through the opposing face of the door and into the housing of the door pull. This mounting arrangement presents the primary disadvantage of flush mount door pulls in that the heads of the fasteners are exposed on the opposing door face and are aesthetically unpleasing. Further, the primary force exerted against the door pull is, at least initially, directed along the axis of the fasteners, placing considerable stresses on the threads of the fasteners and on the threads of the threaded bores associated with the door pull. These stresses lead to premature loosening of the fasteners securing the door pull within its pocket and, in extreme cases, can even cause the threads of the fasteners or of the threaded bores to strip.
Thus, there is a need for a flush mount door pull which does not require exposed fastener heads.
There is a further need for a flush mount door pull which avoids premature loosening of the fasteners securing the door pull within its pocket and which reduces the likelihood of the threads of the fasteners or of the threaded bores from stripping.
Another problem with prior art flush door pull handles concerns how to make the pull handle appear aesthetically pleasing. Most flush door pull handles are extruded from aluminum or other suitable metal and are installed with a bare metal finish. Thus the installed pull handles usually do not match either the color or the texture of the door panel within which they are mounted. Painting the pull handle can be difficult because of the recessed construction of the pull pocket. Finally, painting the pull handle does not address the problem of the texture of the finish.
Thus there is a need for a flush door pull handle which can easily be adapted to match the color and texture of the door panel within which it is mounted.